#MandlaHlatswayo: 'A thousand words won't bring you back'

Johannesburg – Mandla Hlatshwayo had planned festivities for his upcoming birthday, before he met his untimely death.

This is according to friends and family who described Hlatshwayo as a jolly, respectable soul. He and a friend, Oupa 'Chom Chom' Duma, were shot and killed allegedly trying to assist two women who were being robbed of their cellphones.

Phindile Hlatshwayo, Mandla's mother, had a heartfelt message to her son which reads: "Mandla my child. A thousand words won't bring you back. You we precious gift, my shining star put off before time. They say time will heal.

"You fooled me on Sunday, by being the first to wish me a happy Mother's Day. Only to realise that was an eternal goodbye. Days before your departure you told me to keep praying... You are so wonderful to think off, yet to hard to live without," she said.

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Video: Nokuthula Zwane

Hlatshwayo's brothers and sister said they were not ready to say goodbye, in another tribute to their beloved brother.